Mercury (element)

Mercury, 80Hg
Mercury
Appearanceshiny, silvery liquid
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Hg)
Mercury in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson
Cd
↑
Hg
↓
Cn
gold ← mercury → thallium
Atomic number (Z)80
Groupgroup 12
Periodperiod 6
Block  d-block
Electron configuration[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2
Physical properties
Phase at STPliquid
Melting point234.3210 K ​(−38.8290 °C, ​−37.8922 °F)
Boiling point629.88 K ​(356.73 °C, ​674.11 °F)
Density (near r.t.)13.546 g/cm3 [3]
Triple point234.3156 K, ​1.65 × 10−7 kPa
Critical point1750 K, 172.00 MPa
Heat of fusion2.29 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization59.11 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity27.983 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k
at T (K) 315 350 393 449 523 629
Atomic properties
Oxidation statescommon: +1, +2
−2[4]
ElectronegativityPauling scale: 2.00
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 1007.1 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 1810 kJ/mol
  • 3rd: 3300 kJ/mol
Atomic radiusempirical: 151 pm
Covalent radius132±5 pm
Van der Waals radius155 pm
Color lines in a spectral range
Spectral lines of mercury
Other properties
Natural occurrenceprimordial
Crystal structure ​rhombohedral (hR1)
Lattice constants
Rhombohedral crystal structure for mercury
ar = 301.06 pm
α = 70.529°
ah = 347.64 pm
ch = 673.20 pm (at triple point)[5]
Thermal expansion60.4 µm/(m⋅K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity8.30 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity961 nΩ⋅m (at 25 °C)
Magnetic orderingdiamagnetic[6]
Molar magnetic susceptibility−33.44×10−6 cm3/mol (293 K)[7]
Speed of soundliquid: 1451.4 m/s (at 20 °C)
CAS Number7439-97-6
History
DiscoveryAncient Egyptians (before 1500 BCE)
Symbol"Hg": from its Latin name hydrargyrum, itself from Greek hydrárgyros, 'water-silver'
Isotopes of mercury
Main isotopes[8] Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
194Hg synth 444 y ε 194Au
195Hg synth 9.9 h β+ 195Au
196Hg 0.15% stable
197Hg synth 64.14 h ε 197Au
198Hg 10.0% stable
199Hg 16.9% stable
200Hg 23.1% stable
201Hg 13.2% stable
202Hg 29.7% stable
203Hg synth 46.612 d β− 203Tl
204Hg 6.82% stable
 Category: Mercury (element)
| references

Mercury is a chemical element; it has symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum (/haɪˈdrɑːrdʒərəm/ hy-DRAR-jər-əm) from the Greek words hydor 'water' and argyros 'silver', from which its chemical symbol is derived.[9] A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure;[a] the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is the halogen bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature.[b]

Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is obtained by grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide. Exposure to mercury and mercury-containing organic compounds is toxic to the nervous system, immune system and kidneys of humans and other animals; mercury poisoning can result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury) either directly or through mechanisms of biomagnification.

Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, mercury switches, mercury relays, fluorescent lamps and other devices, although concerns about the element's toxicity have led to the phasing out of such mercury-containing instruments.[11] It remains in use in scientific research applications and in amalgam for dental restoration in some locales. It is also used in fluorescent lighting. Electricity passed through mercury vapor in a fluorescent lamp produces short-wave ultraviolet light, which then causes the phosphor in the tube to fluoresce, making visible light.

  1. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Mercury". CIAAW. 2011.
  2. ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (4 May 2022). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
  3. ^ Fehlauer, H.; Bettin, H. (2004). "Density of mercury—measurements and reference values". Metrologia. 41 (2): S16–S22. doi:10.1088/0026-1394/41/2/S02. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  4. ^ Brauer, G.; Haucke, W. (1 June 1936). "Kristallstruktur der intermetallischen Phasen MgAu und MgHg". Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie. 33B (1): 304–310. doi:10.1515/zpch-1936-3327. ISSN 2196-7156. MgHg then lends itself to an oxidation state of +2 for Mg and -2 for Hg because it consists entirely of these polar bonds with no evidence of electron unpairing. (translated)
  5. ^ Arblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
  6. ^ "Magnetic Susceptibility of the Elements And Inorganic Compounds" (PDF). www-d0.fnal.gov. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory: DØ Experiment (lagacy document). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ^ Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.
  8. ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
  9. ^ "Definition of hydrargyrum | Dictionary.com". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2022. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  10. ^ Mewes, J.-M.; Smits, O. R.; Kresse, G.; Schwerdtfeger, P. (2019). "Copernicium is a Relativistic Noble Liquid". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 58 (50): 17964–17968. doi:10.1002/anie.201906966. PMC 6916354. PMID 31596013.
  11. ^ "What is EPA doing about mercury air emissions?". United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2007.


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